Tony Shalhoub on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Monk and more

Episode notes

Tony Shalhoub as Abe Weissman in season 5 of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
Philippe Antonello/Prime Video

Tony Shalhoub is a veteran of both the big and small screens. 

He’s had unforgettable parts in movies like Barton Fink and Men in Black. He’s also starred in movies like Big Night. And of course, there’s his parts in TV shows like Wings and the hit detective series Monk. 

It’s easy to say that his MFA from the Yale School of Drama is being put to good use. 

Recently, you might know Shalhoub from his role in the Amazon show The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. It’s a dramedy set in the late 50s. 

Rachel Brosnahan plays the show’s title character — Midge Maisel. When the series starts out, Midge is a housewife living in Manhattan who puts her old life behind her to take up stand-up comedy. She leaves her husband, takes her kids and moves back in with her parents. And, in fits and starts, her stand-up career takes off.

Tony Shalhoub plays Abe Weissman, Midge’s dad. He’s stern and traditional. But throughout the course of the series, we see a complexity to his character as his worldview is challenged by his daughter and his wife Rose’s unconventional life decisions. 

It’s a role that’s gotten Shalhoub a handful of awards – Emmy included. 

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel concluded its fifth and final season last month. You can catch that over on Amazon Prime. 

When we spoke to Tony Shalhoub back in 2019, the show’s second season had just premiered. Shalhoub stopped by Bullseye to talk about The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Plus, he got into his iconic character on Monk and why he almost didn’t take the job.

This interview originally aired in 2019.